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Monday, 19 December 2016

Registration cancelled 16-Dec-2016 on export to People's Republic of China. Aircraft was delivered across the North Pacific on 19/20-Oct-2016 to Reignwood Air.

947 - DHC-6-400 C-FVGY Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

As can happen at this time of year, the delivery of C-FVGY to Russia has encountered some delays along the way. The aircraft flew Victoria, BC - Comox, BC - Prince Rupert, BC - Anchorage, AK on 10/11-Dec-2016. A local test flight from Anchorage was undertaken on 15-Dec-2016, and finally on 18-Dec-2016 after initially filing for direct to Anadyr, it flew Anchorage, AK - Nome, AK.

JTSB Issues Accident Report on JA201D.

The accident report for MSN 915 JA201D has now been published. The Safety Recommendations of the Japan Transport Safety Board are as follows:

It is somewhat likely that one cause of this accident was that the FO did not have adequate
knowledge of the aircraft system. It is also somewhat likely that the inadequate response of the PIC
in the event of an unforeseen situation contributed to the occurrence of this accident. It is probable
that these resulted from the fact that ground training and flight training stipulated by the Company
were not carried out properly.

In order to contribute to preventing the recurrence of similar accidents, based on the result of
investigation of the accident, the Japan Transport Safety Board recommends, in accordance with
the provisions of Article 27 Paragraph 1 of the Act for Establishment of the Japan Transport Safety
Board, that First Flying Co., Ltd. give careful consideration to the following and take necessary
measures thereof:

Ascertain the current situation of ground training and flight training correctly, and then
improve its system for training to enable the stipulated training to be carried out properly.

The full report can be viewed at the following link (it is in English):

Skybus continues to refurbish their Twin Otter and Islander fleets, with the second DHC-6 G-CEWM near completion. The new interior trim is a product of Australia's Aeroplastics and Structures, who are a TwinOtterSpotter advertiser.

The new interior can be seen in the photos below, with thanks to Kevin Rouncefield.

Sunday, 11 December 2016

Flew Springbank, AB - Minot, ND 09-Dec-2016 following a check at Rocky Mountain Aircraft. The aircraft had arrived in Springbank back on 07-Oct-2016. It is seen below at Anchorage in May of this year with thanks to Kevin Fortney.

Flew Victoria, BC - Comox, BC 10-Dec-2016, and Comox, BC - Prince Rupert, BC - Anchorage, AK 11-Dec-2016 as it makes its way towards Russia for RN Aircraft. The aircraft is seen below at Victoria, on arrival from the paint shop, with thanks to Tim Martin.

Repainted into Caverton Helicopters c/s, and noted at Victoria, BC 06-Dec-2016. This aircraft had originally arrived from the paint shop in Spokane 10-Jan-2016 in an all white scheme. This is the second Series 400 for Caverton, joining MSN 864 which was delivered in 2013.

Monday, 5 December 2016

The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company is making a £530,000 investment in its Skybus fleet of aircraft to include new interiors, enhanced navigation systems and an eye-catching new livery.

Six of the eight-strong fleet will be fitted with brand new interiors including all new trim, carpets and soundproofing in time for the start of the busy holiday season next Easter.Five of the fleet will be entirely repainted, which means stripping the aircraft back to bare metal, while all eight aircraft will be decorated with a new red, white and blue tail fin design.

The upgrades are being carried out between now and next April. This is when the fleet normally undergoes annual maintenance, which takes around four weeks for each aircraft and is phased so there is no disruption to services.

The Skybus fleet has also been fitted with new satellite landing technology called EGNOS which is like satnav for aircraft and will improve operational resilience during times of poor weather.

Rob Goldsmith, chief executive of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company, said: “This is a major investment by the company in improving passenger comfort and operational resilience.

“With five of the fleet due to be repainted we have also taken the opportunity to refresh the appearance of the aircraft with a bright new livery. Our first repainted and upgraded Twin Otter has just returned and more aircraft will follow in the coming months.”

Steamship Group Chairman, Andrew May, added: ‘Our strategic goal is to improve the scheduled transport links with the islands, by both sea and air, over the long term. By this we mean transport links which meet the demands and requirements of our passengers and customers, such that our services are reliable, resilient, of high quality and affordable.’

Over the last five years the Steamship Company has invested £12.5 million in strengthening transport links to the Isles of Scilly, including the acquisition of an eighth Skybus aircraft and most recently a new freight ship, the Mali Rose.

The Skybus fleet is made up of four 19-seater DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft and four eight-seater BN2 Islander aircraft.

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All three of Skydive San Diego's (TAC Air Ops) Twin Otters, and Blackhawk Caravan are seen on the ground at the company field in Jamul, CA (east of San Diego).

The company operates MSN 202 N711AS, MSN 644 N300DZ and MSN 767 N3PY. If anyone has any nice shots of the middle one to contribute, that would be great!

Friday, 2 December 2016

Victoria, British Columbia, December 1st, 2016: Viking Air Limited of Victoria, BC, Canada
welcomes Skytek Pty. Ltd. of Cairns, Australia to the Series 400 Twin Otter support network as the
first Factory Endorsed Service Centre (“FESC”) in the Asia-Pacific region. Skytek’s location in
northern Queensland, combined with their extensive Twin Otter maintenance experience, makes
them the ideal choice for a Viking-certified service facility for legacy de Havilland and Series 400 Twin
Otter operators in southeast Asia and Australia.

Over the past 20 years, Skytek have demonstrated an increasing level of dependable Twin Otter
maintenance services to a widespread customer base in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Myanmar, including Series 400 Twin Otter operators Hevilift and Ok Tedi
Development Foundation.

Stanko Paleksic, Viking’s Technical Support manager, was responsible for conducting a technical
audit in support of Skytek’s application for the FESC program. He commented, “Skytek is already
the maintenance facility of choice for many of our Series 400 operators, so to have them join our
support network as an FESC is a natural progression of our corporate relationship. Skytek’s focus
on delivering quality service from their maintenance facility in Australia, as well as the services they
provide at customer bases throughout southeast Asia, will be an asset to all Twin Otter operators in
the region.”

The FESC program, administered through Viking’s Global Customer Support group, develops
strategic partnerships with specialized industry professionals to provide factory recognized service
and warranty repairs for both Viking Series 400 Twin Otters and the legacy de Havilland fleet.

About Skytek:
Based in Cairns, Australia, Skytek is a privately owned company with over 20 years of
experience providing support, heavy maintenance, aircraft modifications and component
overhaul for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including the Series 300 and Series 400 Twin
Otter.

382 - DHC-6-300 C-FUGT Kenn Borek Air Ltd., Calgary, AB

Registered 01-Dec-2016, ex 8Q-IAH.

The ex-Maldivian Twin Otter 8Q-IAF is seen outside the Kenn Borek facility yesterday, after arrival from its return ferry flight. Thanks to Dave Subelack for the photo.

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Updating entry for 30-Nov-2016; flew Iqaluit, NU - Thompson, MB - Calgary-Int'l, AB 30-Nov/01-Dec-2016, returning to Kenn Borek Air after lease. At the time of writing, the aircraft is just north of Drumheller, AB.

As with the previous aircraft (MSN 382) returning from the Maldives, the ferry flight was undertaken by World Wide Ferry of Calgary.

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